C.M. Punk and John Cena: The Greatest Rivalry of All Time?

When you think of superior rivalries in professional wrestling, you automatically think of the classics – Nature Boy Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes,  Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant, Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Shawn Michaels, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Those names and those matches would be exemplified as some of the most timeless and unforgettable in-ring moments that we have seen in the history of professional wrestling. But it is an honor to say that there is now one more – the current rivalry between John Cena and CM Punk.

From the moment these two has their first big time match at Money In The Bank 2011 in Chicago, the two men have never had less than a five-star match. We have seen these two in a variety of main event matches for almost two years now, and the match quality has never grown old.

In fact, living in an era where we tend to see recycled material in repeated matches, their series of matches have never had repeated scenarios or situations.

What makes a rivalry so significant is the way how the wrestlers and the fans identify with each other. Cena represents the fan that truly believes in optimism, the positive way of going about everything in life, and showing that perseverance and will is the key to get to the top.

Punk, on the other hand, represents the fan that is a non-conformist, who believes that one lives by the rules that they set for themselves and most importantly, a fan that is anti-establishment.

Both of these sides is a bold example of what the wrestling fan personifies today, and this is why no matter how many times we see this  match, fans want more.

With Punk now not being a part of the WWE Championship title picture for Wrestlemania 29, it is a very big mystery as to whom his Wrestlemania opponent may be. Some say The Undertaker, some say Randy Orton or Ryback.

However whomever Punk is going to be facing at the biggest stage of them all, his presence will be missed in the championship main event. Punk not only has elevated himself when it comes to being an individual superstar, but he has brought out the best out of John Cena.

I believe I speak for all fans when I say “this rivalry needs to last forever”.

WWE: Why the Undertaker Should Beat CM Punk at WrestleMania

So after much speculation and worry, the Undertaker made his return to WWE at a house show in Waco, Texas a few days ago.  Before his return, there were many news reports stating that Taker was too injured to compete at WrestleMania and his rumored match with CM Punk was in doubt.

However, now that Undertaker has returned, WWE has to build the match with Punk with only five weeks remaining until the biggest show of the year.  Fortunately for them, Undertaker matches need very little build storyline-wise because Taker himself is the draw. 

WrestleMania has turned into a showcase for the Undertaker and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.  Taker’s streak is more over than any title in the entire promotion and people genuinely care when Undertaker seems in trouble during his matches.

Think back to the Undertaker-Triple H End of an Era match with Shawn Michaels as the referee.  I honestly thought the live crowd was going to have a collective heart attack after the “Sweet Chin Music into Pedigree” spot.  Even the group of people watching the event at my house gasped all at once and they were only casual wrestling fans. 

The truth of the matter is that people pay for WrestleMania to watch the Undertaker extend his streak.  No fan of WWE really wants the streak to end because that means an end to the last two decades of dominance. 

That is the exact reason why the Undertaker should beat CM Punk at WrestleMania.

Now, there is a very vocal minority of fans who state that Punk should be the one to end the streak because he has the most to gain from the victory.  I would argue Punk doesn’t need a victory over the Undertaker at all because it wouldn’t help him in the long run.

Look at it this way, Punk is clearly the No. 2 wrestler in the company right now behind John Cena The hierarchy in WWE looks like this:

1.  John Cena

2.  CM Punk

3.  Everyone else on the roster

I don’t count the Rock because he is a part-timer even as world champion and Taker only appears two months out of the year.

So how would beating the Undertaker help CM Punk?  Punk is so head and shoulders above everyone else on the roster that Taker’s rub wouldn’t mean anything.  It’s not going to propel him above John Cena (and really, why would you want that anyways?), so what’s the point?

CM Punk can lose to Taker in a fantastic match and then milk heel heat for the next couple of months by whining and complaining about the loss in classic heel fashion.  A rub from Taker is only going to serve to end the streak, nothing more.

In my humble opinion, Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania should never end.  When it’s WrestleMania 50 and an elderly Undertaker is sitting at ringside, the streak will still mean something.  You could argue that the streak has been the most prestigious title defended at WrestleMania over the last ten years.

So if the victory over Undertaker won’t help CM Punk, then there is no point to doing it.  Have Taker defeat Punk, pop the crowd huge like usual and then, if the rumors are true, you can focus on Undertaker’s farewell match next year.

It’s what the fans want to see.

WWE: Why the Undertaker Shoul